Normally nice, calm Canadian citizens are starting to say FBAR (Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts) as though it's a swear word. They are ex-patriot American citizens who have just realized that the IRS is reaching across international borders with legislation that was originally designed to stop money launderers. Instead it is catching legitimate taxpayers who have never earned a dollar on U.S. soil. They have no U.S. assets. They have filed all of their tax returns, only in Canada.
Not only is the IRS extending its reach to ex-pats, but it's also requiring that Canadian financial institutions disclose your name if you were born in the U.S. How they will enforce that is beyond me, but it points to an economic imperialism that I find disquieting.
What's at stake? People's retirement savings. The penalties for non-filing can be as high as 20% of the highest value, per year.
It's time for the US to tax based on residency like other major jurisdictions. Leave the peaceful Canadians in peace.
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